VICTOR WOOTEN, The Egg, 03/29/2008

ALBANY â€¦ Famed electric bassist Victor Lemonte Wooten brought monstrous low frequencies to the Egg Saturday night with a jaw-dropping display of musicianship that left the sold-out house dazzled.

Way back in 1989, Wooten attained his high profile as a member of the adventurous jazz jam band Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. It’s not everyday you see a bass player as leader and with Wooten’s funk-filled soul and jazz, it’s a perfect fit.

At the Egg to plug his about-to-be-released “Palmystery,” Wooten wore an orange shirt and trademark dreadlocks and with a mere ride cymbal Wooten started noodling about.

Noodling on the bass means something different when Wooten is onstage.

He stabbed and slapped and pulled the strings, played impossible arpeggios, and ran from the highest to the lowest note in a millisecond. While Wooten played melody often, another bass player â€¦ the brilliant Anthony Wellington â€¦ held down the bottom.

For a while, that is. A bass battle ensued like you’ve never seen, face to face trading fours (measures) in a vicious back and forth that had the crowd screaming.

Newcomer Steve Weingard’s technique was simply stunning. He crept around in a stealthy mode, then pounced on the keys and ripped off lightening fast two-handed runs like child’s play. It’s a given you’ve got to have chops to hang with this crew, but Weingard was over the top â€¦ often playing as if he had two right hands.

The complex “Left, Right & Center” was another high point; drummer Derico Watson showed perhaps the fastest foot pedal in the West (and certainly within a 100 miles).

Regi Wooten on guitar didn’t really have a whole lot to say, but he was in the thankless position of standing near bass players who could play circles around him. His gimmicky feature “Sifu” had slippery Allan Holdsworth overtones, but did not quite hit the mark.

The expansive “I Saw God” found Wooten reciting a clever story about running into God on the street. Wooten was quite talkative and even told bass jokes, keeping the pace going with a much more cohesive show than in the past, and closing with the catchy “Miss U.” (featuring vocalist Saundra Williams).

Since most of the audience were musicians, you can be sure they either went home to practice or put their gear up on eBay by morning.

What a night.

David Malachowski is a local freelance writer from Woodstock and a regular contributor to the Times Union.